Saturday, July 26, 2008

Support the Free Speech Protection Act

Update: Concerning Rachel Ehrenfeld’s book Funding Evil: How Terrorism Is Financed — and How to Stop It (Hardcover) — here is a review on Amazon from a reader calling himself “Concerned Kafir”:

If a Saudi royal is spending millions on muzzling the author of this book, you better believe it has some good stuff inside! This is a must-read for any non-Muslim, and it is important to purchase this book to support the brave, idealistic, sacrificing author, who is in the same righteous league as other heroes like Robert Spencer, Andrew Bostom, Ibn Warraq, Ali Sina, Walid Shoebat, Brigitte Gabriel, Bat Ye’or, and a few others. Buy a copy for yourself. If you have a relative or friend who works in any capacity for DHS, buy him or her a copy, too. This is especially important because of infiltration of Muslims into our government…

Not only is this book banned in Britain, this Amazon reviewer would be up on charges by a fervently dhimmified Crown Prosecutor.


As many of our readers already know, a quiet but relentless effort is underway in the United States to circumvent our First Amendment rights and introduce a European-style “defamation of religion” restriction on free speech. A parallel effort, known as “libel tourism”, involves libel lawsuits filed through the British courts with the aim of silencing American authors who criticize Islam and expose terrorist financing.

These are stealth projects designed and supported by the various front groups of the Muslim Brotherhood, which have spread petrodollars around in a bipartisan fashion in an attempt to corrupt the political system.

It’s interesting that news of the effort to resist the suppression of free speech in the USA comes from Europe News. Maybe the Europeans — with their greater proximity to the endgame of Islamization — feel the danger more acutely than we do.


Europe News is urging their American readers to protect their First Amendment, also because The Free Speech Protection Act could advance free speech rights in other countries.

If free speech is important to you, PLEASE copy the letter below and paste into the contacts (below) and send it to Members and staff on the Judiciary Committees in the House and Senate (listed below). Please forward this petition to your list, encourage them to sign and forward to their lists (More info on YouTube and American Center for Democracy).


Dear ____________,

The Free Speech Protection Act of 2008 ( S-2977 & H.R. 5814), was introduced by U.S. Rep. Pete King (R., N.Y.) and co-sponsored by Rep. Anthony Weiner (D., N.Y.), and a Senate companion bill by Senator Arlen Specter (R., PA) and Joseph Lieberman (I- CT), and co-sponsored by NY senior Senator Chuck Schumer. With Schumer on board, and others joining, the Free Speech Protection Act can be adopted before Congress adjourns this summer.

It’s important to take immediate measures to defend our ability to inform the public and protect our free speech rights — now under attack by Saudis using the British legal system. I can’t think of a more important and urgent law Congress and you can be proud of than the Free Speech Protection Act.

This legislation builds on New York State’s “Libel Terrorism Protection Act, aka “Rachel’s Law.” The NY law, and the proposed federal legislation grew from the court battles of New York journalist and terrorism investigator, Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, whom a Saudi billionaire sued in Great Britain for Funding Evil; How Terrorism is Financed — And How to Stop It — although she is American and her book sold here, not in the U.K. But plaintiff-friendly British libel laws have made London a Mecca for libel tourists wishing to intimidate authors worldwide.
- - - - - - - - -
The suit against Dr. Ehrenfeld — like 40 previous cases that silenced many other American and New York authors — is an obvious attempt to dilute First Amendment protections of free press, and prevent investigations of terror-financing.

The British Guardian wrote on July 15, “English libel law is an international menace, a national disgrace, a pre-democratic anachronism. It defends crooks, terrorists and tyrants from investigation. It threatens the free speech of people all over the world and causes untold damage to the reputation of this country.”

In a tremendous victory for free speech rights and to provide legal protections from “libel terrorism” to New York authors and publishers, the Libel Terrorism Protection Act, aka “Rachel’s Law,” was adopted unanimously — in less than 3 months(!) by the NY legislature and signed into law by Gov. David Patterson on April 30, 2008.

Pat Schroder, President of the Association of American publishers stated: “We’ve supported Rachel Ehrenfeld in her court battles…. Now we’d like to see the fight taken to another level with enactment of federal legislation.”

Senators Specter and Lieberman note that the English Libel Laws threaten the “free-flowing marketplace of ideas” which “enables the ideals of democracy to defeat the totalitarian vision of al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations”. Free speech in the U.S. “is under sharp attack through foreign courts, where dozens of mendacious libel suits have intimidated and silenced American authors and U.S. publishers.”

The new legislation would not shield those who recklessly or maliciously print false information. It would ensure that Americans are held to and protected by American standards,

wrote Senators Specter and Lieberman. The new Free Speech Act bars U.S. courts from enforcing libel judgments issued in foreign courts against U.S. residents, if the speech would not be libelous under American law.

The bill also permits American authors and publishers to countersue if the material is protected by the First Amendment. If a jury finds that the foreign suit is part of a scheme to suppress free speech rights, it may award damages.

PLEASE, Help vote the Free Speech Act into Law. American Writers need it to be able to unearth the truth, and publish it without ant censorship by foreign courts.

Sincerely,

_______________


Below is contact information for the Senatorial Judiciary Committee, the Congressional Judiciary Committee, and Staff. Click on each link for details on the web, or use the phone numbers.

General Judiciary Committee

Staff Majority Communications Director
Jonathan Godfrey
 Tel (202) 225-3951
Majority Press Secretary/
Spokesperson Melanie Roussell
 Tel (202) 225-3951
Majority Staff Director/
Chief Counsel Perry Apelbaum
 Tel (202) 225-3951
Minority Chief of Staff/
General Counselor
 Tel (202) 226-0002
Minority Communications Director
Kim Smith
 Tel (202) 225-6906

Senators on Committee

NY Charles Schumer
  Press Secretary Brian Fallon: (202) 224-7433
 
VT Patrick J. Leahy
  Press Secretary Erica Chabot: (202) 224-2154
 
MA Edward Kennedy
  Press Secretary Melissa Wagoner: (202) 224-2633
 
DE Joseph Biden
  Press Secretary Elizabeth Alexander: Tel (202) 224-2154
 
WI Herbert Kohl
  Press Secretary Lynn Becker: (202) 224-2240
 
WI Russ Feingold
  Press Secretary Zach Lowe: (202) 224-8657
 
CA Dianne Feinstein
  Press Secretary Scott Gerber: (202) 224-8657
 
IL Richard Durbin
  Press Secretary Joe Shoemaker: (202) 224-7028
 
MD Benjamin Cardin
  Press Secretary Sue Walitsky: (202) 224-7433
 
RI Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse
  Press Secretary Alex Swartsel: (202) 224-7433
 
PA Arlen Specter
  Press Secretary Chris Gindlesperger: (202) 224-5225
 
UT Orrin Hatch
  Press Secretary Mark Eddington: (202) 224-5251
 
IA Charles Grassley
  Press Secretary Beth Levine: (202) 224-6197
 
AZ Jon Kyl
  Press Secretary Andrew Wilder: (202) 224-4521
 
AL Jeff Sessions
  Press Secretary Michael Brumas: (202) 224-4124
 
SC Lindsey Graham
  Press Secretary Wes Hickman: (202) 224-5972
 
TX John Cornyn
  Press Secretary Brian Walsh: (202) 224-2934
 
KS Sam Brownback
  Press Secretary John Rankin: (202) 224-6521
 
OK Tom Coburn
  Press Secretary John Hart: (202) 224-5754

Congressional Representatives

NY-9th Anthony Weiner
NY-8th Jerrold Nadler Tel: 202-225-5635
CA-24th Elton Gallegly
CA-3rd Dan Lungren
CA-29th Adam Schiff
CA-28th Howard Berman
CA-16th Zoe Lofgren
CA-35th Maxine Waters
CA-39th Linda Sanchez
CA-27th Brad Sherman
CA-49th Darrell Issa
MI 14th John Conyers (Chair)
VA-9th Rick Boucher
VA-3rd Bobby Scott
VA-6th Bob Goodlatte
VA-4th Randy Forbes
NC-12th Melvin Watt
MA-10th William Delahunt
FL-8th Ric Keller
FL-24th Tom Feeney
FL-20th Debbie Wasserman Schultz
FL-19th Robert Wexler
TN-9th Stephen Cohen
GA-4th Hank Johnson
OH-13th Betty Sutton
IL-4th Luis Gutierrez
WI-2nd Tammy Baldwin
AL-7th Artur Davis
MN-5th Keith Ellison
TX-21st Lamar S. Smith
TX-18th Sheila Jackson Lee
TX-1st Louie Gohmert
WI-5th F. James Sensenbrenner
NC-6th Howard Coble
UT-3rd Chris Cannon
IN-6th Mike Pence
IA-5th Steve King
AZ-2nd Trent Franks
OH-4th Jim Jordan
OH-1st Steve Chabot

3 comments:

spackle said...

I am shocked! Usually when I hear the names Anthony Wiener and Chuck (I never met a camera I didnt like) Schumer I have to hold back the bile from coming out of my mouth. I guess a broken clock is correct twice a day so those two still have once more to go. I always liked Peter King. He is a real Paisan out of Staten Island. A place with a lot of Soprano wannabees and common sense. I would trade him for my Marxist congressman in a heartbeat.

Dymphna said...

Spackle-

One of our best is on that committee:

Senator Jon Kyl

He has been a big force behind the limits to immigration*. My congressional representative likes Kyl very much.

Kyl is also the minority leader on the subcommittee on terrorism.
_____________________

*BTW, illegal Mexican immigration seems to be coming to a slow halt and reversal...I'll have more to say later.

Meg said...

"But plaintiff-friendly British libel laws have made London a Mecca for libel tourists wishing to intimidate authors worldwide..."

A Mecca, eh?? Good choice of adjective or Freudian slip?

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